Multi-panel sliding door structure



July 12, 1966 J. PIPE MULTI-PANEL SLIDING DOOR STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 17, 1964 INVENTOR. JO/f/V P/PE'.

United States Patent 3,260,303 MULTI-PANEL SLIDING DOOR STRUCTURE John Pipe, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor to Steelcase Incorporated, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Jan. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 338,505 2 Claims. (til. 160-197) This invention relates to multi-panel sliding doors, and more particularly it relates to a construction having a plurality of vertically supported panels interconnected by a unique system of structural elements which provide a simultaneous progressive sliding motion of the panels in moving one panel behind another when the structure is opened from either end.

Several assemblies have been devised in the past for the purpose of making available sliding or folding closures which would supplant the common solid door. These previous assemblies utilized a number of panels which either were mounted independently of each other or were connected at their adjoining edges by various hinge means. In the first case, the panels would have to be separately slid one behind each other in order to provide an opening. This proved to be not only awkward and undesirable in operation, but required separate mounting tracks, resulting in the loss of considerable depth in order to provide for proper sliding clearance between the various panels. In the second case mentioned, although the closure provided was easier to open, the partition formed by the several panels required complex mounting or suspending means, since it was necessary for the various panels to fold at their hinged adjoining edges in accordion fashion one upon the other, and they therefore were required to pivot about a vertical axis while they were being slid in a horizontal direction. The pivoting sliding mounting means often became snagged and inoperable, and soon wore out, as did the hinging means connecting each panel to the next. Such devices also proved unsatisfactory in that they were cumbersome to operate, and generally required a fixed mounting at one of the end panels, so that they could be opened only from the other end, and when in the open position they had the very undesirable feature of obscuring a portion of the doorway by the space required to accommodate the panels, which were then folded upon each other. Additionally, such devices were aesthetically displeasing, since when extended they invariably assumed a generally corrugated appearance, while in the open position they presented the cumbersome accordion-like structure noted.

The present invention has solved the foregoing shortcomings and disadvantages by providing a segmented partition made up of a plurality of panels which are uniquely interconnected so that when extended so as to provide a closure they present a fiat barrier, with all the panels lying in substantially the same vertical plane. This barrier may be opened from either end, and as it is opened its panels slide compactly behind one another without pivoting or hinging upon each other, and therefore occupy a minimum of space. Thus, the individual panels may all be suspended from a single continuous overhead track or guide means, and this may be accomplished without the need for complex linkage mechanisms associated with the suspension means, which are necessary in the case of panels which pivot so as to fold in accordion fashion upon opening of the partition.

The panels making up the partitive structure of the present invention are articulated by a unique interconnecting mechanism so that upon commencing opening of the doorway in which they are mounted, the panels move toward their end position progressively rather than individually or serially; that is, upon'movement of any Ice one of the panels all of the panels begin to move at the same time, except the end one toward which the others are being moved. The elfort required of one opening such a partition is thus an easy, uninterrupted, and rapid one, as opposed to the cumbersome and awkward efforts required by previous devices.

It will be seen that the partitive structure of the present invention need not be attached or anchored at one of its ends in order to insure its proper operation, and moreover, no catches or latch mechanisms are necessary at its ends in order to make certain that it remains in its extended position once placed there. Additionally, the unique opening operation made available by the present invention allows access to the entire area beyond the structure by completely exposing the same.

It should be very apparent that additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art upon perusal of the accompanying specification and drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevational view of the extended partitive device, showing the placement and nature of the panel interconnecting means.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the track and roller mechanism with-in the dashed line enclosure 2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken along the lines IV-IV of FIG. 2, showing also the overhead mounting track in combination therewith.

Briefly, this invention concerns a partitive structure or door made up of a plurality of individual rectangular panel members which are separately slidably suspended from overhead adjacent each other so as to from a single vertical plane. The panels are interconnected by a unique,

system of pivotally mounted rigid structural members which serve to integrate the several panels into a door whose component members simultaneously slide progressively behind one another upon opening of the structure from either end, as by sliding the paned at that end toward the other panels, or by exerting a slight force upon .any interior panel toward any other panel. 4

Referring now in more detail to the embodiment shown in the drawings, the inventive partitive structure herein disclosed consists of a plurality of generally rectangular panel sections A, B, C, and D (FIG. 1). These panels are preferably formed of suitable sheet material, such as sheet metal or the like, and in the preferred embodiment herein shown some of the individual panels (i.e. A, B, and C) may have one of their longitudinal edges formed into a vertical channel 3 extending substantially the full height of the panel, thereby affording a convenient operating handle while adding to the structural rigidity of the member (FIG. 2). Interior panels B and C have a Z-shaped flange 5 attached, as by welding, to the rear side of the panel along its longitudinal edge opposite the '7 edges bearing the channel shaped portions 3. The flanges 5, like the channel portions 3, run substantially the entire height of the panel and serve to additionally strengthen it, as well as to bear the fixed pivot mounts 9 and 10,-

which will be explained in more detail'subsequently.

The side of panel A opposite the channel-shaped ex tremity 3 terminates in a reverse bend 4, which is formed by first bending the end material perpendicular to the plane of the panel, and then bending the edge of this perpendicular segment so that it extends slightly toward the opposite end of the panel and lies in a plane parallel to that of the panel, thereby forming a small channel portion having parallel sides. At this same end of the panel A a support rail 14 is attached to the inner surface of the reverse bend 4 in such a manner as to have one side of the support rail substantially parallel to the plane of the panel. The support'rail 14 is an angular member having perpendicular longitudinal sides, thus. when one of the sides lies in the aforementioned plane, the other side lies perpendicular to the panel. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the conjunction of the reverse bend 4 and the support rail 14 form an upright retaining and guiding track-way 15 for the roller 12. This guiding track-way and the roller together define a movable pivot point for one end of interconnecting structural member 7, whose function is described more fully hereinafter.

The inward vertical side of thepanel D has attached to its rear surface, as by welding, a reverse-bent flange 40 (corresponding to the reverse bend 4 of panel A) and a support rail 140 (corresponding to the support rail 14 of panel A). As in the case of their corresponding elements,

the members 40 and 140 provide by their conjunction an upright retaining and guiding track-way 141 for the roller 11. This upright guiding track-way 141 and the roller 11 which it retains together provide a movable pivot for one end of the interconnecting structural member 6.

Each of the panels A, B, C, and D, comprising the :partitive device disclosed herein is pendantly suspended from its upward extremity by means of a pair of rollable mounting members 50 and a continuous overhead guiding track 51 which serves to retain and guide the rollable members 50 (FIGS. 2 and 4). The members 50 comprise a flat circular bearing surface, which is preferably a small ball bearing, rotatably mounted about its center upon a support arm 26. The assembled rolling mount 50 is attached to the upper extremity of a panel, as by welding the protruding end of the support arm 26 to the panel, but this attachment may be accomplished in any conventional manner. In'the preferred method of suspending the several panels A, B, C, and D, the rollable mounting members 50 are attached to the panels on opposite sides thereof (FIG. 2), so that the panel will hang vertically from its overhead mount without any tendency to angularly displace itself from this position about the mount as a center of rotation. This placement of the members 50 also enables the panels to slide behind one another while allowing the rollable mounts to share a single common suspending track 51. However, this roller placement is not absolutely necessary, as is shown by the fact that panel A has both rollers on one side in the embodiment disclosed. Further, it should be specifically noted that the panels need not necessarily be supported at their tops to achieve the partitive movement comprising this mechanism.

The separate vertically suspended panels are interconnected by the two rigid structural members 6 and 7, which may each be simply a strap. The structural members 6 and 7 are attached to adjoining panels (i.e. B, and C) at a point on the structural member lying between its ends as shown in FIG. 1. Attachment of the structural members 6 and 7 to the panels B and C is accomplished by means of pivotal mounts 9 and 10, which are supported upon the vertical flanges attachedto these panels in the manner aforesaid. The pivots 9 and 10 may be of any conventional design such as comprising generally an abbreviated shaft, an aperture of suificient size to receive the shaft in spaced relation thereto, and means for retaining the placement of these elements when so assembled.

' When attached to panels B and C in this manner, the inward ends of the structural members 6 and 7 are pivotally connected together by pivot means 8, which comprises a connection of the same nature as that of the pivots 9 and 10. The outward ends of the members 6 and 7 bear the rollable members 11 and12, shown in FIG. 3. These rollers are of a construction similar to the rollable suspension members 50, and like the latter members may also be a conventional ball bearing. The rollers 11 and 12 are inserted into and carried by the track-ways 15 and 141, described hereinbefore.

Assembly and operation Having fully described my invention, its assembly need not be elaborated. Each individual panel, after having installed upon it a pair of the rollable mounting members 50 and the flange and rail members discussed previously, are interconnected by means of the pivotally mounted articulating structural members 6 and 7 in the manner aforesaid. The rollable mounting members 50, which now support the complete structure, are slidably inserted into the suspending track 51, which is then mounted upon the upper horizontal side of the desired doorway or opening, as by means of a mounting bracket 52 attached to or formed integrally with the suspending track 51 (FIG. 4). The length of the suspending track 51 will usually be the width of the doorway selected to be closed, and therefore the sides of this opening will effect closure of the open ends of the suspending track 51.

Upon being pendantly suspended in this manner, it should be clear that each of the panels A, B, C, and D may be easily moved in a horizontal direction, since the mounts 50 will easily roll in their containing track 51 in either direction. Now, as best seen in FIG. 2, the width of each of the panels is slightly greater than the minimum width necessary to merely bring the panel into an abutting relationship with the next panel. This slight excess in width is used to cause adjoining panels to overlap in a small amount when the assembly is completely extended, i.e., completely closing the doorway into which it is installed. Thus, when the doorway is to be opened by sliding the panels together, each panel will be slid immediately behind the next in line.

The individually suspended panels are thus easily slidable in either direction, due to the rolling movement of the overhead mounts 50. The relative motion of the panels in an assembled unit will be in accordance with the relationship established by the interconnecting members 6 and 7, described above, which makes from the separate panels an integrated assembly whose movement is now articulated and coordinated. The track-ways 15 and 141 serve to contain and guide the rollers 11 and 12, which are in turn attached to the ends of the rigid structural members 6 and 7 in the manner described previously. Thus, it will be seen that these ends of the structural members are pivotally mounted about the rollers 11 and 12, and that the pivot point afforded by these rollers is a movable one, being capable of vertical rolling movement within the track-ways and of horizontal movement as the panels A or D are horizontally slid either toward or away from each other.

Now, when either of the end panels A or D are moved toward the other so as to effect an opening of the doorway, each of the other panels except for the end one will simultaneously begin to progressively slide behind each other and behind the said end panel. For instance, if panel D in FIG. 1 is pushed toward the left, the roller 11 must begin to move to the left, since it is carried horizontally by the panel and moves in a direction relationship to it. The slightest leftward movement of the panel D, and hence the roller 11, transmits a force through the interlinking structural members 6 and 7 in a leftward direction also. Since the pivot points 9 and 10 are firmly attached to the panels C and B respectively, and since the ball bearing mounting members 50 have a very low coefficient of sliding friction, the panels C and B will also begin to move to the left under the influence of the force transmitted to them at their pivot points 9 and 10 through the rigid structural members 6 and 7 and their common pivoting connection 8. As the panel B is moved toward the panel A the roller 12 is forced to move upward in its retaining rail assembly until stopped by its upper extremity. This vertical movement of the roller 12 allows the structural member 7 to rotate clockwise about the pivot point 19, as that point is moved a distance to the left. Now, the other end of the structural member 7 must also have been moved clockwise about the point 10, and therefore occupies a position lower than it did previously. Since this end of the structural member 7 is attached fixedly at pivot point 8 to the lower end of the structural member 6, this latter member will have been pivoted about the pivot point 9 in a counter-clockwise direction, so as to place the pivot point 8 at the lower position just mentioned. Also, since the pivot point 9 is aflixed to panel C, the point 9 will have moved a greater distance leftward than did pivot point 10, and the pivot point 8 will accordingly assume a new position at a distance to the left intermediate the distances the points 10 and 9 respectively have moved. The upper end of the structural member 6 will also have been moved counterclockwise about the pivot point 9, as the roller 11 was carried horizontally leftward with panel D and therefore the roller 11 will have been moved upwardly within its retaining rail assembly, thereby accommodating the counter-clockwise movement of the structural member 6 just noted.

In light of this operation, it should be apparent that the movement of each panel is a regulated, progressive one, relative tothe movement of the other panels. The partitive structure herein disclosed may therefore have its panels progressively moved one behind the other so as to open the doorway or other opening into which it is installed to any desired degree, and this may be accomplished from either end or from both ends simultaneously with the same ease and convenience of operation. Moreover, the integrated panels, after having been slid partially together may be slid as a unit in either direction. For instance, if the partition has initially been moved to the left so that all the panels lie behind one another at this extremity, the aggregated panels may be moved to their opposite extremity by simply sliding panel A to the right, thereby carrying the other panels in their same relationship to the new position.

It should be readily apparent that my present invention has greatly improved multiple panel sliding door assemblies by providing a structure whose separate panels are articulated relative to each other, and whose motion is coordinated into progressive relative movement. The inventive structure has the added advantages of simplicity of construction, ease of manufacture, ease of operation with practically no maintenance, and possesses a long and useful life. It reduces the space required for installation and operation to an absolute minimum, and additionally presents desired qualities of appearance, which previous cumbersome devices have entirely lacked. Obviously other and varied details in construction will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon perusal of this description and the accompanying drawings, and accordingly the scope of this invention should be limited only as expressly set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A partitive structure comprising: a plurality of panels; means for slidably supporting the said panels individually in substantially the same plane with at least one side edge of each panel adjacent a corresponding side edge of the next panel; means for interconnecting the panels in such a manner as to provide for their progressive sliding one behind the other while the plane of each panel remains substantially parallel to those of the other panels, said means consisting of a pair of substantially rigid structural members, each pivotally mounted at a point between its ends upon a diiferent fixed pivot carried by one of two different panels, each pivotally mounted at one of its ends upon a different movable pivot carried by one of two other panels, and each of said members having its remaining end connected solely to the like end of the other in a pivotal manner.

2. A partitive structure comprising: four substantially rectangular panel members; a pair of roller mounts attached to each of said panel members near its upper extremity; a single continuous track means containing and guiding all of said roller mounts so that the said panels attached thereto will thereby be individually pendantly suspended in substantially the same plane with at least one side edge of each panel adjacent a corresponding side edge of the next panel; and a pair of rigid interconnecting structural members each pivotally mounted at a point between its ends upon a different fixed pivot carried by different ones of the two inner panels, each pivotally mounted atom of its ends upon a different movable pivot comprising a rollable member guided within a suitable retaining trackway carried by one of the two outer panels, and each of said members having their remaining end connected solely to the like end of the other in a pivotal manner.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 494,823 4/1893 Pitt -185 749,395 1/ 1904 McClure 268-51 1,085,470 1/1914 OBrien et al. 268-51 1,140,100 5/1915 Bash et a1 160-202 X 1,141,479 6/ 1915 Mueller. 1,305,021 5/1919 Stewart. 1,746,850 2/ 1930 Boedtcher. 2,937,699 5/1960 Ducharme 16084 FOREIGN PATENTS 241 1/ 1853 Great Britain. 502,688 3/ 1939 Great Britain. 893,687 4/1962 Great Britain.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. D. L. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PARTITIVE STRUCTURE COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF PANELS; MEANS FOR SLIDABLY SUPPORTING THE SAID PANELS INDIVIDUALLY IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE WITH AT LEAST ONE SIDE EDGE OF EACH PANEL ADJACENT A CORRESPONDING SIDE EDGE OF THE NEXT PANELS; MEANS FOR INTERCONNECTING THE PANELS IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR PROGRESSIVE SLIDING ONE BEHIND THE OTHER WHILE THE PLANE OF EACH PANEL REMAINS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THOSE OF THE OTHER PANELS, SAID MEANS CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF SUBSTANFINALLY RIGID STRUCTUREAL MEMBERS, EACH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT A POINT BETWEEN ITS ENDS UPON A DIFFERENT FIXED PIVOT CARRIED BY ONE OF TWO DIFFERENT PANELS, EACH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT ONE OF ITS ENDS UPON A DIFFERENT MOVABLE PIVOT CARRIED BY ONE OF TWO OTHER PANELS, AND EACH OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING ITS REMAINING END CONNECTED SOLELY TO THE LIKE END OF THE OTHER IN A PIVOTAL MANNER. 